The Bloody (a requiem)
by The Resident Vampyr
Summary: After a tumultuous day of Joyce's sudden demise, Buffy must deal with the loss of her mom, Dawn, and ... er, Spike. How would all these going to end? A post 'The Body' BtVS episode, Buffy & Spike fiction.
1. Default Chapter

Title: **The Bloody** (a requiem)  
Synopsis: After a tumultuous day of Joyce's sudden demise, Buffy must deal with the loss of her mom, Dawn, and ... er, Spike. How would all these going to end? A post '[The Body][1]' BtVS episode, Buffy & Spike fiction.   
Note: I write immediately after an episode airs. I don't read spoilers nor early bird reviews so all my post-episode fictions are pure speculations :)   
Rating: PG  
Date Written: Tuesday, 27 February, 2001 : 10:35:07 PM  
Author: [The Resident Web Vampyr][2] © 2001.  
Credits: Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a property by Joss Whedon and the powers that be. Prologue: [Mozart's Requiem Mass in D minor][3].   
Characters in play: Buffy Dawn the Scoobies Spike Giles.  
  
  
  
**prologue.**

> Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine,   
et lux perpetua luceat eis.   
Te decet hymnus, Deus, in Sion,   
et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem.   
Exaudi orationem meam,   
ad te omnis caro veniet.   
Requiem aeternam dona eis, Dimine,   
et lux perpetua luceat eis.

  
**  
part one.**  
  
A man was standing not far from a tree in front of Buffy's house. A trail of smoke puffed out of his cigarette every now and then. Spike yawned. He's been out of circulation for the past day or two and needed a break after personally supervising his new pet project. Even though he told himself to move on with his life, he still couldn't resist visiting the real object of his affection.   
  
... _Few more disappointments, she'll be cryin' on my shoulder, mark my words_....  
  
He could still remember the exact statement he gave to a Watcher Council lady. Spike smirked. He wondered what was up with Buffy. As much as he wanted to deny it, he missed her. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, Spike mused. Although his Buffy-bot would be able satisfy his most ardent needs, _no robot or dummy can replace the passion that we share, together or not_, he thought.  
  
"The dance is not yet over Slayer," Spike blurted out, looking for some sign of Buffy inside the house. "We are part of one another. Not even death can keep us apart..."  
  
Death. His mind traveled a few months back to when Buffy forced him to reveal his secrets about how he killed previous slayers. It was about death and the wish for death. That was the secret.  
  
..._Sooner or later, you're gonna want it. And the second-- the second-- that happens... You know I'll be there_...  
  
Spike pushed the thought aside. He definitely didn't want to have a good day in the same context as death. That was the old Spike, the Spike that everyone knew and unwilling to forget. It occurred to him that he'd been standing outside Buffy's home for hours now, with no Slayer in sight.   
  
An icy cold dread started creeping through his body. "Something's wrong..." he whispered. His heart hammered.  
**  
  
  
part two.  
  
**"It's not her... It's not her, she's gone... (...gone... gone... gone...)"  
  
Joyce Summers, beloved mother and friend to her two daughters, was finally laid to rest on a Saturday afternoon. Buffy and Dawn were being comforted by Willow and Xander, Anya and Tara, and Giles. Buffy hadn't said much since the day her mother died. It was like a dream. Her mother's eyes, staring up and unfocused. Buffy shed no tears, felt no pain, no anguish. There was only silence.  
  
Dark clouds hovered above them. The trees nearby swayed as a cold air blew through their leafless branches. Their bare skeletons rustled against the wind. Buffy held her sister tightly as the coffin was slowly being lowered into the ground. Dawn broke free from Buffy's embrace and placed a red rose on her mother's coffin. She wept silently.   
  
Giles, together with the Scoobies, decided to leave the two sisters alone to have a private moment together.   
  
It happened very slowly, just like in a dream. _If only I had been there earlier that day, I c-could have done something_. Buffy felt paralyzed, the fact that she was meant to save the lives of other people, but was not able to save her own mother was a shock she was still absorbing. _I-I could have... I could have tried t-to_... She realized that she was still holding a rose so tight that her hands began to bleed. But it no longer mattered to her; _nothing matters anymore... not the pain, not the blood, nothing at all_... Buffy held back her tears as long as she could, until she could no longer contain them. It began to rain.   
  
Not far from where they were standing, Spike watched.  
  
  
  
**to be continued**  
  
****continue reading [**Misere Mani**][4]****  


Also by The Resident Web Vampyr Against One, Stronger than Desire, Sweetness Follows, Glorious, No More, An Ode to Spike and Buffy, Checkpoint, Blood Lies, Crushed/I was made to crush you, I was made to love you too, The Bloody.

   [1]: http://www.buffy.com
   [2]: mailto:vampireloveslayer@yahoo.com
   [3]: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~tan/Mozartreq/mozartpage.html#9
   [4]: http://www.fanfiction.net/index.fic?action=story-read&StoryID=218861&Chapter=2



	2. Misere Mani

Title: **Misere Mani**  
Synopsis: Buffy slowly copes with her loss and make crucial decisions that could change her life. Chapter 2 of '[The Bloody][1]', Buffy & Spike fiction.   
Note: I write immediately after an episode airs. I don't read spoilers nor early bird reviews so all my post-episode fictions are pure speculations :)   
Rating: PG  
Date Written: Tuesday, 27 February, 2001 : 10:35:07 PM  
Author: [The Resident Web Vampyr][2] © 2001.  
Credits: Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a property by Joss Whedon and the powers that be.   
Characters in play: Buffy Dawn Spike  
**  
  
  
******continuation of [**The Bloody**][1]******  
  
  
part three.**  
  
It was the day after the funeral. Giles, Willow, and Xander had volunteered to spend the night at Buffy's house to make sure she and Dawn were alright. Buffy graciously declined. She wasn't sure exactly why, all she knew was that she wanted to spend time alone. Ever since the funeral, Buffy hadn't uttered any words; she remained silent and seemed to be lost. Giles was worried and insisted that he stay until everything was back to normal.  
  
  
***  
  
Buffy stood in her mother's room. She was more affected by Joyce's death simply because in the back of her mind she knew Dawn wasn't real. She was all alone in the world, an orphan in every sense. An absent father, a sister who's not human, friends who have their own lives, a Watcher wrapped up in his business, an ex-boyfriend who's incommunicado, and a lost love buried in his own struggle.   
  
"Angel...?" Buffy whispered.   
  
Slowly, a tear ran down her cheek. No ties to the world that she had was supposed to protect. What was left of her existence? Buffy wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She walked inside her mother's walk-in closet and lightly ran her fingers along her mom's clothes. A familiar black dress caught her eye. It had a blue and green floral design staggered across the center. It was the same dress that Joyce had worn for a date recently. Buffy gently held the dress and slowly pressed it against her face and inhaled its scent. Buffy could still smell her, she could still remember her embrace, she could still remember her kisses.  
  
Buffy laid down on her mother's bed, still clinging to the black dress. She softly caressed a pillow, her mother's pillow. She imagined how every night this pillow cradled her mother's head, comforted her. Buffy's thoughts rushed forward on what would happen now with her, with Dawn.   
  
"Buffy?"   
  
Dawn entered the room, a bit uncomfortable seeing her sister crouched their mother's bed.  
  
Buffy sat up and patted the side of the bed, gesturing for her sister to sit down beside her. Dawn approached her timidly.  
  
"Dawn," said Buffy. "I've been thinking, about mom, about you, and what happens next."  
  
Dawn listened.   
  
"I made some decisions," Buffy sighed. "I've decided to quit school," she said in a sorrowful tone.  
  
For a few moments there was complete silence. Dawn didn't say anything but her heart shrank as she held back tears.  
  
"I decided to look for work full-time, so that I, w-we could pay up this house, the bills, a-and your school..."   
  
"Buffy..."   
  
She didn't allow Dawn to finish, "A-And, you know what? I could concentrate more into slaying and stuff. And I'll be 100% focused in protecting you," said Buffy, collecting herself amidst her trepidation.  
  
  
***  
  
  
Buffy let out a faint whimper, tears building in her eyes. This was the picture she had in her mind for how she would tell Dawn about her plans. It's for the best, she thought. She curled up once more in her Joyce's bed. _What about dad? What about him? He's never there when I needed him. It was always Giles. Giles the Watcher, Giles the friend, Giles the father figure. My dad? All I know is he's somewhere in Spain. Anyways, it's too late for him to be a part of our lives_. Buffy slowly closed her eyes.  
  
  
***  
  
  
Buffy felt the grass beneath her hands. She could tell that it was recently placed there after the burial. It's still moist under the wet ground. Buffy also noticed some fresh flowers at her mother's gravestone. There was no indication of where or who they were from. She had been lying on her mother's grave for a few minutes now, thinking back to when Joyce was still alive. Buffy smiled at the random memories that came back to her.   
  
Everything was at standstill, the silence was deafening yet it didn't seem to bother her. Buffy was aware that there was no other place she'd rather be at the moment, she felt her eyes getting heavy, and she started to blink. Once, twice. She thought she saw two sets of heavy boots in front of her.   
  
  
  
  
**part four.**  
  
His hand pressed flat against the glass window outside the bedroom from where Buffy was. Spike had let a day pass without trying to speak to her. He witnessed Buffy's grieving and he couldn't stand seeing her like this. He felt compelled to be there for her, it didn't matter if she rejected him for the nth time. What mattered right now is her. Spike suddenly found his voice.  
  
  
***  
  
  
"Buffy..."  
  
Dawn entered the room, a bit uncomfortable seeing Buffy crouched in their mother's bed.  
  
Buffy sat up and patted the side of the bed, gesturing for her sister to sit down beside her. Dawn approached her timidly.  
  
"Dawn," said Buffy. "I've been thinking, about mom, about you, and what happens next."  
  
Dawn started crying. "Buffy, why is this happening..?"  
  
For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Buffy finally said, "I don't know..."  
  
*****  
  
**  
  


Also by The Resident Web Vampyr Against One, Stronger than Desire, Sweetness Follows, Glorious, No More, An Ode to Spike and Buffy, Checkpoint, Blood Lies, Crushed/I was made to crush you, I was made to love you too, The Bloody.

   [1]: http://www.geocities.com/vampireloveslayer/fiction/thebloody.html
   [2]: mailto:vampireloveslayer@yahoo.com



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